Hydrology and Hydraulics

Hydrology and Hydraulics within the field of water resources concerns the water cycle and the resulting flow of water and its constituents. Hydrology is the science of the water cycle – from precipitation to runoff over the land surface and infiltration into the ground, collection into ponds and streams, and evaporation and plant transpiration back into the atmosphere. It necessarily overlaps with weather, the short term behavior of the atmosphere – temperature, wind, and precipitation on a daily time scale and with climate, the long term pattern of weather on a scale of years to decades and longer. Hydraulic Engineering in water resources combines the science of fluid dynamics with design and analysis to manage the flow and forces of water. It includes closed conduit flows (water flowing through pipes) and open channel flows in natural and constructed waterways. Some of our projects include:

 

Hydropower Generation by Hydrokinetics

We evaluated the potential benefits and risks for hydrokinetic turbines to generate electrical power with turbines placed in open rivers to capture flow energy without dams. Numerous pilot site permits have been approved to demonstrate power generation by this innovation. We examined how that energy extraction might affect sedimentation, water quality, and navigation safety. With other experts in the field, we published a journal paper reviewing the state of knowledge concerning hydrokinetics and its environmental effects.

 

Flood Risk Assessment

We examined the potential for flooding in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of California that would follow levee breaching by floods or earthquakes. Dynamic Solutions, LLC, modeled the flow of water through potential levee breaches and across land behind the levees to determine the interval between initial warning and flooding. We performed a Composite Risk Assessment of flooding probability combined with the potential loss of life and property damages to create a prioritized list of needed levee improvements.